But that said this particular list - from the examples cited - must be right at the top of the "crassed list of best-ofs-of all time list" I suspect even Price and Still would blush at receiving such lofty placement.
Recently Classic FM have published a list of the '15 Best Symphonies of All Time'.
Any such list is probably going to contentious but I suspect that this one will be more contentious than most (what criteria are used to qualify as best?). For example, there are some surprising omissions; for instance, there is nothing by Bruckner or Schubert - and no Beethoven Fifth. Perhaps more surprising are some inclusions: Florence Price no.1, William Grant Still no.1 'Afro-American', and Louise Farrenc no.3, along with Gorecki's 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs'. Rather obviously the first three of these reflect a diversity agenda and all four are works that have only gained a wider audience in recent years (partly due to Classic FM's play list). But are they really better than many works that are excluded? After all, is the Florence Price Symphony really the second best symphony of all time - as the list suggests - being beaten only by Mozart no.41? (Or does this simply represent the current enthusiasm of someone at Classic FM?.)
Of course none of this is to deny that it is good to be able to hear previously unsung works. I am sure that readers could draw up their own lists of works that need to be recorded and which deserve to be better known; irrespective of whether they are better or worse than others.
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